Holtz: Tech 'will be a better football team in 2014'

Louisiana Tech running back Kenneth Dixon, left, smiles during a playful interview by head coach Skip Holtz at the NCAA college Conference USA football media day in Irving, Texas on Wednesday.(Photo: AP)

DALLAS – Call it a blanket statement, a guarantee, a logical outlook or simply a prediction.

Whatever it may be, Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz thinks his football team will be better than a 4-8 campaign in 2013. It's as simple as that.

Speaking at Conference USA Media Day in Dallas on Wednesday, Holtz believes his second year at Tech is primed to bring much more excitement to Ruston.

"I think we'll be a much better football team, but it will be interesting to see if the wins and losses follow that with the schedule we have to play," Holtz said.

And there's the issue.

Tech, which failed to capitalize on one of the easiest schedules in the country in 2013, faces an opening five-game stretch that could easily leave the Bulldogs in a 1-4 hole.

After starting the season at Oklahoma, Tech faces the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Auburn and North Texas. All four teams made bowl games in 2013.

"It will be a great challenge," Holtz said. "I think we're going to learn a lot about our football team in the first six games but then hopefully we can kind of get our feet on the ground and get some of these new players coming in a little bit more seasoned with our football team and hopefully we can make a run at the conference in the second half of the season."

Tech was predicted to finish fourth in the Conference USA West Division behind North Texas, Rice and Texas-San Antonio.

Although Tech isn't among the preseason favorites, the general consensus from C-USA coaches Wednesday was that Tech will turn things around.

"There's no doubt in my mind that La. Tech will get back to the top in no time with Skip because he cares about his players, he wants them to be successful, both on and off the field," said Middle Tennessee State coach Rick Stockstill, who is a longtime friend of Holtz. "I know those guys love him. I know they'll play hard for him and I know that Skip is a fantastic coach as well as a man."

Holtz's players are on board, too.

Running back Kenneth Dixon, who represented Tech at Media Day along with linebacker Tony Johnson, can sense a different environment from the disappointing 2013 season.

"I feel like we're more together than we were last year just by the way the locker room communicates," Dixon said. "I feel like our team is going to be mentally tougher than last year. Going through the wins and losses just teaches you how to stay composed — don't get too high, don't get too low, just stay composed."

Holtz hopes to pick starting QB early

Quarterback play is usually a decent indicator of team success, something Tech witnessed first-hand in 2013 with erratic games from Ryan Higgins and Scotty Young that didn't help the Bulldogs' losing ways.

Young has since left the team, but Higgins is among five quarterbacks in the running for the starting gig.

Holtz said he'd like to narrow the race down as quickly as possible. The number could quickly dwindle to three if he decides to redshirt Wilson and Woodall.

"I would like for someone to take it early, and I would like to make the decision as soon as we can because when you're going into a season at this point, you can't get five quarterbacks ready," Holtz said.

The most likely outcome, though, is a two-horse race between Higgins and Sokol.

The fifth-year senior didn't play a down for Iowa, but similar to former Tech quarterback and current wide receivers coach Tim Rattay, Sokol shattered junior college records during his time in Arizona.

"A guy that's going to be heady and mature and run the offense," Holtz said. "I would expect you bring in a guy like that with his seasoned experience to be a guy that is definitely going to be in the mix to compete for it."

King cleared for practice

Between all the hoopla surrounding media day, Holtz did deliver some good news regarding running back Tevin King, who had surgery to repair a broke foot this past spring.

Holtz said King, who suffered the injury in late March, is cleared for the start of Tech's fall camp in August.

"He's rehabbed it hard and working at it hard," Holtz said. "I'm excited."

King's injury was just another roadblock in an otherwise injury-plagued career. The 5-foot-6 shifty back tore his ACL as a freshman then missed more than a month last season with a high ankle sprain.

"It's him being healthy and him being able to stay on the field as his biggest obstacle, biggest hurdle that he needs to climb now," Holtz said. "The only way to do that is to put on some weight and to gain some strength as a football player."